Finland sees unusually warm October

October was unusually warm throughout the whole country and exceptionally warm in some places, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).

Average temperatures for the month varied between approximately 0 degrees in Enontekiö and 10 degrees in the Southwest Archipelago.

October was between 1 and 2.5 degrees warmer throughout the country than the average for the reference period 1991–2020.

At many observation stations in the Gulf of Finland, the average temperature in October was the warmest in the station’s measurement history. The high air temperatures in the Gulf of Finland are explained by the fact that sea water has been very warm in October. Surface water temperatures were approximately 2 degrees above the long-term average.

The highest temperature of the month, 15.9 degrees Celsius, was recorded on 11 October at the Kalbådagrund observation station in Porvoo.

The lowest temperature of the month, minus 15.1 degrees Celsius, was recorded on 31 October at the Vuotso observation station in Sodankylä.

The coast of the Gulf of Bothnia received the most rain. According to preliminary information, precipitation was highest in Tuorila, Merikarvia, where it reached 117.3 millimetres.

The lowest amount of precipitation, 23 millimetres, was recorded at the Pitkäaho observation station in Mikkeli. Precipitation in October was partly lower than usual in the east and south, and higher than usual on the west coast and in Western Lapland.

The highest amount of rainfall in a single day, 58.4 millimetres, was measured at the Sjundby observation station in Siuntio on 9 October.

At the beginning of October, there was only sporadic snow cover in Northern Lapland. During the first half of the month, the snow cover briefly extended from Kainuu and across Koillismaa to Lapland, and it snowed again in this area in the last days of the month.

Snow cover in Lapland was slightly lower than usual for the time period. Snow was at its deepest, 25 centimetres, in Enontekiö's Kaaresuvanto between the 12th and the 14th days.

There were roughly 100-140 hours of sunshine in the southern parts of the country and 70-95 hours in the north. There was slightly more sunshine than usual in most of the country. Sodankylä’s Tähtelä had 95 hours of sunshine, which is nearly 40 hours more than the long-term average. Sodankylä sees this much sunshine less often than once in ten years.